What Souls Are
by bionicsupersoldier
Summary: Everyone knows that the world is in black and white until a person meets their soul mate. James meets his when he's eleven. And then again at twelve. Soul mate AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so, I wasn't going to start posting this until I'd completed it. But, uni is about to get hectic, even more so than usual. And I have five chapters of this more or less done. So, because I won't really have time to write for the rest of the month, I've decided to post this now. As per usual, there won't be regular updates; my life doesn't allow for it at the moment.**

**Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter**

**Written for - Favourite Hogwarts House BC Challenge with 'childhood sweethearts', OTP BC Challenge using 'overwhelmed', The If You Dare Challenge with 'soulmates'.**

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><p><span>Chapter One<span>

Saying goodbye to his parents wasn't as difficult as he had been worrying it would be. There were no tears, on his part or his mother's. Though it was clear they were going to miss him, they only had encouraging things to say about the journey he was going to take and the experiences he was going to have.

"Do try to be good, love." His mother whispered in his ear as she hugged him, her arms like a vice around his shoulders. He hugged her back just as fiercely, his head burrowing into her shoulder. He inhaled deeply, trying to engrave the smell of her perfume into his memory.

"At least, try not to get detention until _next_ week." His father grinned at him. He stepped around his wife to pull James into a hug that wasn't quite as tight as the one his mum had subjected him to.

"I'll try, but I make no promises." James grinned back. He reached for the handle of his trunk and pulled it out of the way as a stern looking woman strode past, her two children trailing behind her.

"That's all I ask."

A loud, piercing whistle rang out above the chatter of those gathered on the platform and James tightened his hand around the handle of his trunk.

"Best get a move on, mate, or all the good seats will be taken." His father smiled gently at him, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I'll write you the day after tomorrow and give you a chance to settle in." Mrs Potter promised. She kissed James on the cheek one last time before he jumped onto the train, nesting her head in the crook of her husband's shoulder.

"See you at Christmas!" James called back, moving aside as a girl with dark grey hair and a boy with greasy black hair and a crooked nose got on. She smiled at him gratefully as she passed and he returned it slightly, ignoring the scowl the boy sent in his direction as he trailed after her.

"We're proud of you, Jamie!" His mum shouted and then she smiled at him. "Go and find somewhere to sit."

With a final wave, James started down the corridor, peering into each compartment as he moved, trying to find one that was either empty or looked like the people inside were also first years.

.

Luckily, he'd got on near the back end of the train and it didn't take him long to find a compartment with only one person sitting inside. The door was already open, so he poked his head through the gap and coughed lightly to alert the only other boy of his presence. He startled slightly and James smiled apologetically, taking a hesitant step into the compartment.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The boy scoffed at this, but nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I was wondering if I could sit here. Everywhere else is full." That wasn't completely true, but James didn't particularly want to sit with a group of rowdy fourth years and the other boy didn't need to know.

"No, it's fine." He closed the book he'd been reading; a water marked copy of _The Adventure of Martin Miggs, The Mad Muggle,_ and looked at James expectantly when he didn't move.

"Right, cheers." James muttered sheepishly, lifting his trunk onto the rack above the plush bench seats. He lowered himself onto the seat opposite the boy and stared out of the window for a few minutes before sighing. He glanced over at the other boy and found him watching him in mild amusement.

"I'm James. James Potter." James said, breaking the silence that had settled over them and he ignored the manners his mother had tried to teach him. There was no way he was going to shake hands with another eleven year old, no matter how Pureblood he looked.

"I'm Sirius." The other boy said as a way of introduction and James grinned, ignoring the eye roll that was sent in his direction. "I _know. _I don't know what my parents were thinking. The Blacks have a bad habit of naming their children just so they can torture them."

The grin dropped from James' face and he stared at the boy opposite him. Sirius noticed and he clenched his jaw before speaking.

"What? Don't want to sit with me now?" James shook his head to clear it and he blinked a few times, noticing the well hidden flash of hurt that crossed Sirius' face.

"No! No, it's just that before my mum married Dad, she was a Black. She's never… spoken kindly about them." He watched as Sirius relaxed against the cushions of the seat and gave him a small smile to show he wasn't going anywhere.

"That's probably because there isn't anything nice about them." Sirius said sourly, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. He glanced around the compartment warily, as if trying to decide whether they'd be overheard or not. "My parents aren't so bad and I do love them. But my cousin Bellatrix is horrible."

"My dad always says that you should judge a person based on 'who they are, not what they are'. So unless you want to, I don't know, go around killing Muggles or something, I don't have a problem with you being a Black."

"That's awfully kind of you." Sirius said sarcastically and James let out a surprised laugh.

"I do try." Sirius snorted and James grinned. "You don't, do you? Want to run around murdering Muggles?"

Sirius stared at him for a few seconds and the then shook his head in exasperation. "No, Potter, I don't want to murder any Muggles. And if I did, it wouldn't be because they're a Muggle."

"That's reassuring." James commented, his lips twitching again. "So, if you're a Black, does that mean you're going to be in Slytherin?"

The other boy grimaced but quickly did his best to hide it. "It's expected of me. My family is rather focussed on tradition and blood purity, in case you hadn't noticed." He pulled a face, deliberately letting James see this time.

"But do think you'll end up there?" James wanted to know. He could already tell that Sirius was going to be his friend and if he ended up in Slytherin then it would make things difficult. Gryffindors weren't supposed to like Slytherins, after all.

"Probably. Being in Slytherin is a privilege, after all, and Blacks are the most privileged of all." He said this as if it was fact and James bit back any protests he had.

"Yeah, but do you _want _to be a Slytherin?"

"Why would that matter?" Sirius asked, genuine confusion causing his eyebrows to pull downwards into a frown.

"My dad says that sometimes the Hat takes your opinions into consideration. So maybe it will listen to you." James tried not to sound desperate, but he was determined not to lose the only friend he had made. Even if Sirius _did _end up in Slytherin, at least he'd do it having considered other possibilities.

"I suppose if I had to choose, I'd pick Ravenclaw. If I did end up there, I wouldn't be a complete disappointment to the family, at least. I wouldn't have to deal with Bella, either." James felt a small bubble of hope swell up in his chest and he fought to bite down the smile threatening to emerge.

"My mum was a Ravenclaw. She's always going on at me about how great it is." James said, pushing the sleeves of his jumper up and leaning back against the seat.

"My cousin, Andy, is a Ravenclaw and whenever she sees me, she tells me it's the best thing that's ever happened to her."

"Your cousin's name is Andy?" James questioned dubiously, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

"It's short for Andromeda. I told you; Blacks name their children purely so they can torture them." Sirius smiled faintly. "She's always been my favourite cousin. Bellatrix spends most of her time making fun of me. Narcissa never speaks to me and I don't need to spend any more time with the others to know they're all horrible. Andy was the first Black to be a house other than Slytherin in over a hundred years. My parents hate her for it, but she's always stood up for me."

James made an encouraging noise, not entirely sure what to say. He'd grown up without any extended family; his father had an older brother who lived in Austria and his mother didn't talk to any of her family, except for batty old Aunt Celia.

"Anyway, where do you reckon you'll go?" Sirius asked suddenly. His hands fiddled with his shirt sleeves and he looked at his fingers as he waited for an answer.

"That one's easy." James said smugly. "I'm going to be in Gryffindor."

Sirius scoffed. "Who'd want to be one of them?"

"Who wouldn't?" James countered with a scowl. "Gryffindor is the best of all the houses. My dad said so!"

"So? My dad says Slytherin's the best house and that's a lie." The hope that had been growing in James' chest diminished at this.

"My dad doesn't lie! You're not even going to _be _in Gryffindor, anyway, so what does it matter to you." James demanded heatedly. Sirius stopped short and blinked a few times.

"It doesn't, I suppose. Sorry." James gaped slightly at the apology before smiling.

"S'alright. I'm sorry too." Sirius returned the smile and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head when a few strands fell into his eye.

"What if you're not in Gryffindor? Where would you want to go?" James scowled at that idea and scuffed his shoe against the train floor, watching with disinterest as dark fields flew passed the window.

"I _will_ be. But, if I'm not, I don't suppose Hufflepuff would be too bad, nor would Ravenclaw."

"But not Slytherin?" Sirius said in amusement, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled.

"Definitely not."

"What's so special about Gryffindor, anyway?"

"What isn't? Gryffindors are brave, loyal, daring, and they get to go on adventures no one else could dream of." He declared and then let out a giggle.

"I guess that doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I'll break the tradition." Sirius conceded with a laugh. "Do they fight dragons?"

"All the time! My uncle Arnie used to be a dragon tamer in Hungary and Dad tells me loads of stories." James said, leaning forward. "D'you want to hear one?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, but leant forward nevertheless. "Go on then."

.

An hour and three stories later, James and Sirius were howling with laughter, James' chest heaving as he tried to control his breathing. Opposite him, Sirius was wiping tears from his eyes with his shirt sleeve. Neither of them noticed the two people standing in the door until one of them coughed. Both boys jumped slightly and glanced sheepishly at each other before turning to look at the newcomers.

"Sorry to bother you, but I think this belongs to you." It was the girl from earlier, closely followed by the same greasy haired boy. She was holding something out to James and when he realised what it was, his hand immediately jumped to his trousers pocket. "You dropped it earlier. I've been looking for you so I could give it back."

"Thank you." James said gratefully, reaching out so she could drop the watch into his hand. "It belonged to my grandfather." He murmured, almost as if to himself. He then stood up and carefully placed it in his trunk.

"That's alright. I just thought I'd better give it back to you. I'm Lily Evans, by the way."

"James Potter, and this is Sirius Black."

The other boy remained silent, glaring at the two new friends from beneath his hair.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Lily asked curiously, sitting down to perch next to James. The boys grinned at each other and James lifted an invisible sword.

"_'__Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' _Like my dad."

The greasy haired boy scoffed softly and James aimed a dark glare at him. Lily shot a warning look in his direction.

"Got a problem with that?"

"No." The boy sneered. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy."

"And where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius said quickly, immediately coming to the defence of his new friend.

The boy flushed slowly as James laughed loudly, his head thrown back until it rested against the back of the seat. Lily was slow to react, careful to hide the small smile from her companion but Sirius noticed and grinned at her.

"Come on, Severus, let's go back to our own compartment." She eventually said, looking at James and Sirius in what appeared to be vague dislike. She stood up and moved back over to the door, pulling it open. The boy stalked passed her, glaring at them over his shoulder as he headed down the corridor. Lily turned on her heel, closing the door behind her. Before she could shut it completely, James' voice stopped her.

"Oi, Evans! You never said where you wanted to go."

She smiled slightly. "Gryffindor doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

.

The trolley lady came soon after Lily and the boy had left and the kind, middle aged woman pushing it smiled at them as they bought their sweets. James dropped his armful of chocolate frogs, sugar quills and pumpkin pasties on the bench seat, collapsing down next to them. Opposite him, Sirius did the same and they grinned at each other before digging in.

"Hey, James, do you mind if I nick a chocolate frog?" Sirius asked, already reaching forwards.

"Not at all." James answered, holding one out with one hand and rummaging through the pile in search of a box of Bertie Bott's with the other.

"Cheers." Sirius went to grab the packet, his fingers brushing against James' hand and both boys froze in shock.

James had been told stories about what it was like to meet your soul mate all his life. His parents had been lucky enough to find each other and had taken great joy in telling their only son about how everything they'd known had changed.

The stories didn't do it justice, in James' opinion. The compartment, which had been varying shades of grey, white and black, was suddenly overwhelmingly bright. Colour was everywhere and for some reason, James found that he knew the names of all of them even though he'd never seen them before.

Sirius made a small noise of surprise and James snapped his attention back onto his new friend. The boy's hair was black, which given how dark it had been, wasn't really surprising and his eyes were grey with a hint of blue around the pupils. James found himself staring and tried to shake himself out of his daze, but wherever his gaze fell there were more colours to look at. The bright green fields outside the window had a certain charm to them and he spent a few minutes with his face close to the glass, trying to drink as much in as he could.

"D-did it happen to you, too?" Sirius asked quietly a few moments later, staring at James intently.

"Yeah." He breathed back, meeting Sirius' look with his own. "Yeah, it did."

"What the bloody hell's going on, Potter?" He wondered warily and James felt his mouth drop open.

"You mean you don't know about-?" He was cut off by Sirius' annoyed glare.

"Of course I know what it means. That we're… soul mates." He whispered the last part, as if it had only just occurred to him.

"Yeah, I guess we are." James was still shocked; it hadn't been expected, but he'd also been hoping for this day to come for as long as he could remember. His parents' stories had always sounded too good to be true and he had always wished that one day he'd be able to see that they weren't.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Sirius demanded, his eyes wide in panic. James reached out to grab his hand and pretended not to be hurt when the other boy shrank away from him.

"It's not that bad, is it? Why are you so scared?" James knew he'd hit a nerve when Sirius stopped short and glared at him fiercely. He was about to apologise when he felt a tentative hand grab hold of his and wrap around his fingers tightly.

"I'm _not_ scared." Sirius muttered angrily and then he moaned and threw his head backwards so he was staring at the ceiling. "My parents are going to _kill_ me. No one in my family has met their soul mate in _four hundred years_ and of course mine is a bloke."

He sighed heavily and lifted his head to glance at James, offering him a wry smile. "Breaking traditions indeed, eh?"

"So you're not… worried… anymore?"

Sirius didn't answer that question and instead shot him a levelling look. "I'm not a poof, just so you know."

James hadn't even considered that possibility and he stared at the boy in front of him for a few seconds before speaking. "Neither am I."

"But aren't soul mates supposed to be, I don't know, in love or something?" Sirius asked hesitantly, picking at his fingernails and staring out of the window as he waited for an answer.

"I think we can be whatever we want. I'm pretty sure there aren't any rules about this." James said, watching Sirius' face carefully.

"So, we don't have to…" Sirius trailed off nervously and James was quick to shake his head.

"Nah. My grandmother's soul mate was her sister, so no, we definitely don't have to do anything. We can be friends." James was uncertain and he glanced up at Sirius. "Right? Being friends with me wouldn't be so terrible, would it?"

"I don't know." Sirius teased. "I'm beginning to regret letting you sit in here. You're clearly nothing but trouble, Potter."

"Yeah, yeah." James grumbled. Outside the window, the fields were slowly turning into buildings, rows and rows of red brick houses appearing seemingly out of nowhere. "C'mon. My dad said that as soon as the houses started to change into our robes."

"I bloody hate these things." Sirius complained as he pulled his trunk from the rack, tossing it unceremoniously on the seat and then opened it. From his position James could see that the trunk was lined in a dark green with silver threads shimmering from the overhead light. The Slytherin house crest was visible on some of the things piled neatly beneath Sirius' robes and he scoffed derisively at them before slamming the lid shut.

James focussed on getting his own robes out after that and pulled them out of his trunk quickly. A photo of him with his parents caught his eye and he paused to smile at the three waving figures standing in his living room. Behind him, he could hear Sirius cursing as he tried to tug the robes on over his shoes. Hiding a grin, he concentrated on changing into his robes, toeing his shoes off before pulling the material over his legs.

Just after he sat down again, watching in amusement as Sirius struggled to push his trunk back onto the rack, a voice echoed through the compartment. Both boys stopped moving in order to listen. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

"This is it then, I guess." James said as the train started to slow down. Sirius nodded and pushed passed him into the corridor with a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all. I'm giving you this as a New Year's present (happy new year!) and because I am currently wrapped up in bed with a really bad cold and nothing better to do. If there are any mistakes in this, blame the cold and no doubt I'll find something to complain about later. Oh, yeah, meant to say it in the last chapter, but although this is ultimately going to be James/Lily, there will be elements of James/Sirius (and by elements I mean I am going to cause myself never ending pain because that's the kind of person I am).**

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><p><span>Chapter Two<span>

The platform was packed when they finally managed to get off of the train and they stuck close together as the crowd was jostled around. They looked at each other, unsure of where to go or what to do, until a loud voice shouted out and carried across the heads of everyone gathered on the platform. A lamp appeared a few seconds later, sending the station into a mix of dark browns, oranges and the sky was beginning to darken, bright pink bleeding into blue behind a cluster of trees.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" The owner of the voice was a giant of a man with hands larger than James' head and a long, tangled beard.

"C'mon!" Sirius muttered, pulling James after him by his sleeve. They darted around a tall, pale blonde boy and three of his friends and Sirius ignored the voice that called out for him when they passed.

"Who was that?" James asked, shivering slightly as they came to a stop at the back of a small group of first years.

"A friend of the family." Sirius answered darkly. James decided not to press any further and simply nodded.

"C'mon, follow me – anymore firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

They followed the giant from the platform and were careful not to slip as they stumbled down a steep, muddy path. The light from the lamp cast shadows from the surrounding trees and more than once Sirius whispered warnings about being able to see something further in.

"Shut up." James hissed after the fourth time of Sirius grabbing hold of his shoulder and pointing off into the branches. The other boy huffed out a laugh and grabbed James' shoulder again.

"I thought Gryffindors were meant to be _brave_." James turned his head to glare at him, which caused him to laugh harder.

"We are." He said, punching Sirius on the arm and snorting when he shrank back exaggeratedly.

After that they lapsed into silence, Sirius giggling to himself every few minutes and James rolling his eyes whilst trying not to smile.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," The man called from the front of the group and the two boys glanced at each other in excitement. "Jus' around this bend here."

The group seemed to push forward as one, everyone eager to get a glimpse of what would be their home for the next three months. There was a collective gasp as the path opened out onto the edge of a massive lake, the pink sky reflected in the water. James pointed this out to Sirius and both boys stared at it in fascination before the man's next words drew their attention away.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Both boys gaped at the giant castle, the lights in the windows looking like stars, the last few tendrils of orange wrapping around the many turrets and towers. "No more'n four to a boat!" He pointed to a small collection of boats moored at the edge of the lake.

The first years hurried towards the boats, eager to get out of the cold. James and Sirius clambered into a boat close to the edge of the group and settled down next to each other.

"D'you mind if we join you?" A small, skinny boy with dark brown hair and freckles asked from the shore. A taller, gangly boy with scars across his face trailed behind him, looking about nervously and he refused to look either of them in the eye.

"No, go ahead." James said, moving his feet out of the way so that they could climb in.

"Thanks a lot. I'm Frank Longbottom and this here is Remus Lupin." Sirius seemed to recognise the first boy's name because he looked up sharply.

"Longbottom? As in, son of Augusta, Longbottom?"

"Yes." Frank said hesitantly, eyeing Sirius warily.

"It's been a while, cousin." Sirius smiled and a few moments later, Frank joined him.

"Sirius? Blimey it's been at least three years."

"Everyone in?" The giant, who was at the front of the group in a boat to himself, boomed. "Right then – FORWARD!"

The boats set off, spreading ripples out across the surface and James reached into the water to flick some at Sirius. There wasn't much talking as everyone looked ahead at the castle. It seemed impossibly big as they approached the cliff it was built on and James found his neck craning back to look at it properly.

"Heads down!" The man yelled as his boat neared the cliff and they all bent their heads.

A sheet of ivy covered a wide opening and Sirius grabbed a few vines, flicking them at James with a laugh. James scowled for a second, letting Sirius see, before he grinned back and reached over for a high five. As their palms connected, the colours around them seemed to flair even brighter than they had been and both boys gasped quietly, ignoring the inquisitive look Remus gave them.

They eventually stopped at an underground dock, built into the cave, and eagerly climbed out of the boats, clustering around the giant.

"Everyone got everythin'?" He asked as he checked the now empty boats. When they agreed, he straightened out and James could see a smile underneath his beard. "Le's go, then!"

He led them up a narrow passageway, the lamp held above his head the only source of light and James pulled a face at the wet cave walls. With a snigger, he reached out so he could brush his fingers against the rough rock before wiping them against his friend's cheek. The resulting squawk of disgust made him laugh, which he tried to stifle with his other hand. He stopped bothering when he heard a quiet huff of amusement behind him from either Remus or Frank. They came out of the passage on to a large, grassy clearing and walked up a flight of stairs in order to congregate around a huge oak door.

"Everyone here?" They nodded and he raised one of his massive fists before knocking on the door three times.

.

They were greeted by a stern looking woman dressed in dark green robes, and James was fascinated by the fact that as she moved the material seemed to shimmer in places. He glanced at Sirius and found him staring as well. He nudged the slightly taller boy's shoulder with his own and raised his eyebrows, looking at the woman meaningfully. Sirius caught on quickly and nodded his understanding, their agreement silent; don't give themselves away, soul mates this young were almost unheard of and them both being boys was even rarer still.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall."

She watched them carefully for a few seconds before speaking. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

Hagrid, the giant, pushed the door open wider and disappeared across the Entrance Hall and through a set of oak doors.

As the group walked through the hall, Sirius could hear the constant chatter of hundreds of people, which judging from the sound of it, meant that the rest of the school was behind the doors. Instead of leading them in that direction though, McGonagall directed them into a chamber on the opposite wall.

They clustered together and as James turned his head to look around, his eyes caught sight of Evans and he couldn't help but stare at her. Her hair was a dark red and was by far the nicest colour James had seen yet. The colour seemed to dance in the light, strands of orange catching in the dim candlelight.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said, drawing James' attention away from the girl. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." James and Sirius turned to grin at each other and he noticed that Evans and the hook-nosed boy from earlier did the same.

"The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

Sirius cast James a nervous look and he nodded encouragingly back, unable to reassure the other boy that no matter what happened he wasn't going to stop speaking to him without speaking. Something he didn't think the strict looking professor would approve of much.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points in awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The Sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you're waiting." She narrowed her eyes at James' muddy shoes and then her gaze flickered to Sirius' cheek briefly before moving on to some of the other students. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." With that she left the room, her emerald robes billowing out behind her as she span on her heel.

Once she was gone, the room burst into chatter, the group of eleven year olds wondering what houses they'd be placed in and whether they'd be split up from their new found friends.

James watched Sirius' face carefully, looking for any signs of him panicking. When he deemed Sirius was more than likely calmer than he was, he reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Just so you know, if we end up in different houses, we're still going to be friends."

"Of course we are. You can't get rid of me that easily, Potter." Sirius teased back and he felt himself smile.

"Even if you do end up in stinking Slytherin." Sirius pulled a face at that and James' smile grew into a grin. He avoided the hand that was aiming for his head and was about to retaliate when a loud shriek stopped him.

Behind them a group of about twenty ghosts had appeared through the far wall, some of them not completely through yet, their pearly-white limbs sticking out of the stone. They glided across the room chatting amongst themselves and seemingly not noticing the children cowering away from them.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –" A short, stumpy monk said angrily.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?" A tall ghost wearing a ruff demanded, having finally noticed them.

Either everybody was too shocked by their appearance to answer him or it hadn't registered that he was speaking to them because nobody spoke.

"New students!" The Fat Friar said with a smile that a few of the first years returned hesitantly. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

"Move along now, the Sorting ceremony's about to begin. Now form a line and follow me." McGonagall announced sharply as she re-entered the room, holding it open so they could file passed her.

She marched across the Entrance Hall and over to the doors that Hagrid had disappeared through earlier. They followed her quietly, most of them turning their heads as they walked, trying to take in as much as possible.

The doors swung open, revealing the most amazing room James had ever seen. Thousands of candles were floating above four long tables thoroughly covered in golden plates, platters and goblets. The rest of the students were sat around these tables, watching the new first years with interest as they were led down the gap between a group of teenagers with a yellow and black symbol on their robes and a group of teenagers with blue and bronze on theirs. Some of the ghosts from the chamber were scattered around the room, smiling kindly at them.

They came to a stop before an equally laden table where the teachers were sitting. As he waited for whatever was going to happen next, Sirius found himself looking up at the ceiling and he inhaled quickly, nudging James with a shoulder and nodding upwards. The ceiling matched the sky outside; now a navy blue so dark it looked almost black. Bright silver stars twinkled and both boys quietly started to count as many as they could, whispering the numbers to each other every couple of seconds.

Professor McGonagall placed a stool on the flagstone in front of them and as she put a ratty old hat on top of the seat. The ripped seam near the brim opened and began to sing, something his mother had warned him of and they paused their game long enough to listen to what it was saying.

.

McGonagall pulled a large roll of parchment out of her sleeve as the song came to an end at strode to the front of the group.

"When I call your name, you will put on the Hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She said clearly, her eyes sweeping over the first years critically. "Avery, Arman."

A stocky, scowling boy pushed forward from the back and sat down on the stool, a look of disinterest on his face. It took the Hat less than ten seconds to loudly declare "SLYTHERIN!" The table to the far left erupted into thunderous applause and James ducked his head to hide the face he pulled.

McGonagall read a few more names out, each of them going to either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff and Sirius felt his breathing speeding up as she got closer to his name.

"Black, Sirius." The hall went silent, as it usually did whenever a child of a family as notorious as the Blacks first went to Hogwarts. Sirius took a deep breath, glanced at James for reassurance and only moved forwards when he nodded at him.

He didn't miss the expectant looks that his cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa were sending him from the Slytherin table when he glanced nervously over his shoulder, but he did ignore them. He lowered himself onto the stool slowly and inhaled sharply when the Hat slipped over his eyes.

"Anywhere but Slytherin. I don't care where I go as long as it's not Slytherin." He thought before he could stop himself and startled when a deep chuckle answered him.

"Not Slytherin, eh? No, dear boy. Slytherin is most definitely not the house for you." The Hat murmured in his ear and Sirius felt himself slouch slightly in relief. The Hat continued to talk quietly, Sirius relaxing more with every word. "But where to put you? Your loyalty would serve you well in Hufflepuff, oh yes, and your thirst for knowledge would benefit you in Ravenclaw. But your bravery… Oh, your bravery surmounts them all." The Hat became quiet for a second and Sirius pushed it up so he could look out at the crowd in front of him.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the far right looked unsure of whether to cheer or not, until one person started clapping. Then the table burst into the loudest applause yet and as Sirius passed the Hat back to a bemused McGonagall, he shot a startled but pleased look at James, who was grinning so widely it looked like it must have been painful.

A few of the Slytherins hissed and he risked a peek over at his cousins. Bellatrix looked furious, her black eyebrows drawn tightly over her dark, deep set eyes and her mouth pulled into a thin line. Beside her, Narcissa was wearing a look of confusion, her eyes not really focussing on anything as she gaped in his direction.

McGonagall ushered him onwards and he stumbled towards the Gryffindor table still shocked that he'd somehow made it into the house he'd made fun of only hours before. As he waded through the other first years, he made a point to walk as closely as he could get to James, reaching out to brush their hands together quickly. When their skin connected, their smiles grew as the colours around them became almost overwhelmingly bright.

Sirius slipped away as McGonagall read out the next name on the list, sitting down next to a burly fifth year with bright ginger hair. His smile became sheepish when the ginger boy grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder. He turned back to the Sorting in disinterest, watching as a few more students were sorted into their houses, clapping along when Benjamin Fenwick became the next member of Gryffindor.

"Evans, Lily." Was read out and Sirius paused long enough to watch the girl from earlier on the train, who'd returned James' watch approach the stool. She had an apprehensive look on her face which Sirius completely understood and he watched curiously as she placed the Hat on her head.

Not even a minute later the Hat bellowed "GRYFFINDOR!" and he joined in with the cheering. He saw her give her friend a sad smile as she passed him, but as soon as she was behind him the smile became happier. When she reached the table he offered her a quick quirk of his lips and moved away from the burly boy slightly so she could slip in beside him. She took one look at him, her lips twitching and she shook her head, moving around the benches so she was sitting opposite him instead. He nodded at her in understanding and scooted back to where he had been.

The Sorting passed quickly after that, the scarred boy from the boat, a girl with insanely curly blonde hair and a girl with icy blue eyes that promised mischief joined him as Gryffindor first years. As McGonagall worked through the 'P's, Sirius felt nerves begin to bubble up in his chest and he started dry heaving when a boy named Pettigrew moved to sit next to Lupin.

"Potter, James."

.

For the first time since he'd entered the Great Hall, James felt the niggle of doubt in the back of his head. It whispered that he wasn't good enough to be a Gryffindor and that he'd be sent straight back home because he wasn't good enough for any of the houses.

He swallowed heavily and inched forwards to sit on the stool, his palms sweaty as he rubbed them against his legs. The Hat was placed on his head and he tried to slow his breathing down as he waited for the verdict.

"Please be Gryffindor." He silently pleaded, staring at the underside of the Hat's brim and he jolted when a snigger that he hadn't made whispered to his ear.

"As if you belong anywhere else." The Hat's voice laughed and James relaxed slightly. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The noise the far right table made felt louder than any they'd made before, but all James could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat, and after he'd handed the Hat back to McGonagall he searched for Sirius' face in the crowd. Once he'd found him, he stumbled over to the Gryffindor table on shaky legs, collapsing down next to Sirius with a relieved grin.

"Not too shabby, eh, mate?" He asked on a laugh, letting out a heavy sigh.

Sirius watched him for a few moments through silver eyes lined with blue and grinned suddenly. "Not too bad at all."

.

The Sorting went on for a while after that, a few unpleasant looking sods being welcomed into Slytherin that Sirius tried to ignore so as to avoid Bellatrix's heavy glare. A few more people had been sorted into Gryffindor, but it didn't really matter to Sirius and he focussed all of his attention on James. The two of them were playing a game of how many candles they could count without moving their heads when in front of them, Evans froze in her seat.

"Snape, Severus."

The greasy boy from the train stalked forwards, his head lowered so he was looking at the floor and the Hat had barely even touched his head when it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!". He sloped off towards the Slytherin table, where they were cheering loudly for him and he sat down next to the platinum blonde boy from the platform, a silver badge gleaming under the lights on his chest as he beamed proudly at the newest member of his house.

Evans groaned quietly, burying her head in her hands for a minute before looking up again. James met her eyes with his own, startled by just how _intense _they were, the bright green not what he had been expecting at all and it took him a moment to get his bearings back.

"Tough luck, Evans." She quirked a brow at him but didn't answer straight away so he expanded. "He was your mate, yeah? S'tough when you're split up."

"What would you know about that, Potter?" She asked sarcastically, her eyes flitting between him and Sirius briefly. "You've got yours with you."

That stopped him short and he glanced over at Sirius. The other boy smirked at him and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"What, you don't think we're mates? Come on now, Potter."

"No – I – no." James stuttered, responding to the amused look he was being sent with a weak glare. Evans watched them with a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth before she sighed again and looked over at the Slytherin table.

"He's my best friend and he's the one that told me about magic." Sirius snapped his attention to her.

"You're a Mudblood?" He asked curiously and didn't notice the heavy glare James sent in his direction for a few seconds. "What?"

"Don't call them that." He hissed, his glare still firmly in place and Sirius flinched.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not very nice, you prat." James answered with a scowl.

"But my family uses it all the –" Understanding dawned on his face and he winced noticeably. "Sorry, Evans."

She waved it off with a shake of her head, confusion written across her face. Before she could voice the question she was clearly building up to, James spoke quietly and quickly.

"'Mudblood''s the word that Dark wizards use to describe magical kids born to Muggles. Kids like you." Evans nodded thoughtfully, then leant forward on her forearms.

"But what's so bad about it? It's just a word." Sirius stiffened at this and had the decency to look extremely sheepish.

"It's something, or a variant of the original, that Purebloods have been using for centuries to describe those born to Muggle parents. It's… not a nice thing. It means that to the ones who use it, you're unclean and unworthy of magical talent." Sirius muttered guiltily, refusing to look at either Lily or James until he felt a shoulder nudging his own.

"You don't think that though, right?" James questioned anxiously, as if Sirius' answer was the most important thing in the world and the future of their friendship depended on it.

"Not really…? I don't mean to, I've never thought the way my family treated Muggles was right." He risked a look at James and his shoulders slumped in relief when he saw him smiling slightly. "I've never thought people without magic were any less than those with it, but my family isn't exactly accepting."

The Sorting had finally come to a close, McGonagall removing the stool and the Hat before returning to her seat to the right of the man James recognised as Dumbledore. His blue eyes twinkled behind his glasses and he rested his chin on interlocked fingers, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

He got to his feet slowly, the smile growing when the buzz of noise stopped, students old and new watching him expectantly.

"Welcome!" He said softly, yet his voice carried as if it had been amplified. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words."

.

The feast had been delicious; mountains of food that James and Sirius had been hard-pressed not to drool over and goblets of pumpkin juice that they had guzzled down. When it was finally over and they'd been led by a fifth year prefect to their dormitory, James collapsed face first onto the bed that had his trunk at the end of it.

"I'm bloody knackered." He managed to get out around a yawn, burying his head into the crook of his elbow and watching Sirius from beneath his fringe.

Sirius lowered himself onto the edge of his bed; he'd managed to convince Pettigrew to switch with him when he'd first seen the arrangement with the promise of chocolate frogs, and stared at the floor for a few minutes without moving. Just as James was about to say something, he sighed heavily and flopped backwards, pillowing his head on his crossed arms.

"You alright?" James asked quietly, casting a nervous glance at the rest of the room, although he needn't have bothered. Remus was tucked up in bed, his head buried in the pillows and his back moving slowly as he breathed; Peter was snoring loudly from his position next to the window, and Fenwick had fallen asleep sprawled out across the mattress, his head falling off of one side uncomfortably.

"I'm fine." Sirius answered stiffly and then snorted derisively a few seconds later. "Well, that's not true. My parents are going to _kill_ me over this, you know. They'd have given me a right bollocking for ending up anywhere but Slytherin as it was, but _Gryffindor_? I wouldn't be surprised if they blasted me off the family tree and disowned me for this." He rubbed a hand across his face.

James remained silent, not knowing what to say and watched Sirius instead.

"You watch, they'll send me a 'strongly worded letter' tomorrow morning after Bellatrix has written to them to express her outrage at me daring to taint the family name. They'll demand I speak to Dumbledore to try to find a more acceptable house to move into."

"You don't know that." James said as supportively as he could, not knowing how to make his friend feel better about the situation. "They might leave it alo-"

"They won't! I know they won't!" Sirius cut across him loudly and then cast a quick, anxious look around the room to make sure he hadn't woken any of the others up. "It's what Andy's parents did to her when she got sorted into Ravenclaw."

"You couldn't help where you got sorted, though." James offered instead.

"I could, though." Sirius groaned, lifting himself up onto an elbow so he could stare at James with dark grey eyes. "Your dad was right; the Hat does listen to you. I asked not to be in Slytherin and now here I am." He laughed mockingly. "I don't bloody believe this."

James was still stuck on what he'd said before that and he felt himself begin to grin. "You asked not to be put in Slytherin?"

"Well, yeah. I mean… shut up, Potter." Sirius grumbled back, a matching smirk starting to stretch across his face and he reached behind him to grab a pillow and throw it across the space between them. James quickly rolled out of the way, laughing as he retrieved the pillow and threw it back. It landed true with pinpoint accuracy, although Sirius batted it away with a huff of laughter and put it back. He sobered for a second. "This is all your fault, you know."

"I know." James said with a happy smile, rolling onto his back and tilting so he was looking at an upside down Sirius. "D'you hate me yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure it won't take long." Sirius wiggled up the bed, pulled the covers down enough to get underneath them and pulled them up to his chin. He gazed back at James seriously, his eyes oddly pensive. "The fallout's going to be horrific. Are you sure you want to be friends with me?"

James got settled into bed before he answered, his glasses resting on the bedside table next to him and he squinted across the room at Sirius. "Sirius, you're my soul mate. That means you're stuck with me, whether you want me or not."

He didn't see the smile on Sirius' face as they fell asleep and by the time they woke up the next morning, it was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all. I'm posting this a bit earlier than planned, purely because I feel like it. The next chapter will be up end of February/early March.**

**Warning: there are uses of homophobic slurs in this chapter towards the end, they're not aimed at anyone directly, but they are there. I do not, in any way, agree with what is said, I just wanted to let you all know that they exist :) (also on a side note: I included the use of coloured school ties, although I can't remember if they were an addition for the films or not)**

* * *

><p>The morning after the Sorting all of the first year Gryffindor boys woke up early, a mixture of excitement and apprehension encouraging them to rise from their beds. They got dressed slowly, chatting amiably as they pulled their robes on. Sirius was pale as he listened to the others' talking and James paused before they left the dormitory to place a hand on his shoulder.<p>

"Are you okay?" It was a repeat of the question he'd asked last night, but Sirius seemed to appreciate it more the second time around because he offered a small smile in return.

"Let's just get this over with." He went to pull the door open, only to pause at the sight of James' red and gold tie, which he stared at for a few seconds until James quirked an eyebrow and coughed lightly. He flushed at being caught, but nodded at it.

"Still weird, isn't it?" He asked, looking around them at all the mahogany wood and Gryffindor fixings around the room. "The colours, I mean. They're still so bright. It's kind of unnerving."

Sirius gave him an amused look and yanked the door open. "It only happened yesterday, Potter, of course things are still weird." As they headed down the stairs into the Common Room, where the rest of the boys were waiting with the Prefect who had shown them to Gryffindor tower, he changed the topic. "When we get to breakfast, don't say I didn't warn you."

.

The walk down to breakfast was fairly pleasant, even with Sirius in an increasingly agitated mood. The Prefect, a lanky fifth year by the name of Rory Thomas kept them entertained with stories of Peeves, the school's resident poltergeist. James kept trying to memorise the journey down to the Great Hall, Sirius distracting him by whispering the wrong directions into his ear as they walked and dancing out of the way with a laugh whenever James aimed a swat at him.

When they reached the Entrance Hall, Sirius slowed down significantly, trailing behind the rest of the group. He cast an untrustworthy look around the mostly empty hall before following the rest of his fellow first years into the Great Hall. The room was packed, the incessant buzz of chatter blocking out any other sounds as he trailed after James towards their table. Across the room he saw Bellatrix and Narcissa watching him closely and he ignored them, staring straight in front of him at the back of James' head.

"Just ignore them." James said as they lowered themselves onto one of the benches. The tables, much like the previous evening, were laden with tureens of food that he felt his eyes grow wide at.

The Gryffindor girls had already arrived and Evans offered them a small smile in greeting as she helped herself to three slices of toast. She buttered them all and then reached for three different jams, all the while keeping up a string of conversation with the girl sitting next to her.

"That would be a lot easier if I couldn't feel Bella glaring at the back of my head." Sirius muttered back, stabbing a slice of bacon angrily with his knife and shoving half of it in his mouth at once. He pretended not to notice the disgusted look Evans shot in his direction and instead pulled a bowl of scrambled eggs towards him. "I swear, she's like a dog with a bone. Once she's got something against you, you will never hear the end of it. It's like she makes it her life's mission just to make yours miserable."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." James said, amused as he popped the yolk of one of his fried eggs and dipped a torn piece of bread into it.

"I may have turned her favourite china doll into a perfect replica of a hag when I was seven." Sirius smirked and James barked out a surprised laugh. "She especially hated it when I told her I saw no difference and thought, if anything, it looked more like her."

James sniggered behind a clenched fist. "I bet it looked better, too."

Sirius grinned and nodded. "It really did. It wasn't as terrifying, either." He shovelled some more bacon into his mouth and was chewing furiously when the first owls started swooping through the open windows. He swallowed heavily and his fork clattered onto his plate when a furious looking great horned owl landed in front of him. He reached for the letter tied to its outstretched leg and bit back a pained noise when it bit him sharply on the finger before stretching its wings out and shooting off.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too, Pudge." Sirius muttered, glaring at the large bird as it flew towards the other end of the room. He turned back to find James watching him, one corner of his mouth lifted up slightly into a half smile. "What?"

"Pudge?" James asked, laughter breaking through a little bit as he spoke and Sirius smiled.

"My parents had the bright idea of letting my brother name him when he was five. They learnt to regret it about five minutes later." The smile dropped as he glanced down at the thick envelope resting on the table in front of him. He sighed and picked it up, his fingers shaking a little bit as he tore the flap on the back open. "Let's see how many different ways they want to kill me."

James watched for a few seconds as the boy next to him skim read the first few lines of the three page, double sided letter his parents had sent him. He turned around as a fluffy barn owl landed on his outstretched hand and he smiled affectionately, the fingers of his opposite hand reaching out to brush softly over the bird's feathers.

"Hello, Acadius." He said quietly as he untied the creamy envelop from his leg. The owl hooted softly and James reached for a piece of toast and broke a piece off. He offered it to Acadius, who made an approving hoot and unfurled his wings. He shuffled a bit before nipping James on the finger affectionately and then took off, following the few remaining owls off towards one of the open windows.

Sirius was still deeply engrossed with his own letter, so James opened the envelope in his hand and pulled out a single sheet of parchment.

"_Dearest James,_

_We hear congratulations are in order, darling! Well done. Your father and I are so proud of you. Your father practically jumped for joy last night when we got the owl from McGonagall to tell us you'd made it into Gryffindor, but don't mention it to him. You know what he's like._

_I'm baking some of your favourite biscuits as I'm writing this, so expect a package of those tomorrow._

_Anyway, I must dash, darling boy. This was just a quick line to tell you that we're proud of you and that we love you. We can't wait to have you back for Christmas, and it hasn't even been a full day yet! Enjoy yourself and please wait until next week to get into trouble; I have a bet going with your father and you wouldn't want me to lose, would you?_

_Waiting anxiously for your reply,_

_Love and kisses,_

_Mum_

_xxx_

James smiled at the parchment in his hand, trying to blink back the wetness in his eyes. Sirius was on the last page of his letter, his hands fisted around the edges and crumpling the parchment. His face was pale, his eyes narrowed and his lips were thinned in a tight line as he read.

When he was finished, he threw it down onto the table in disgust, not caring that one of the corners landed in the remainder of James' egg yolk, and another bent into his cup of pumpkin juice.

"I told you." Were the first words out of his mouth and James looked at him. "They want me to go and speak to Dumbledore 'immediately'." He sneered as said the word.

"They didn't take it well, then?" James said morosely, looking down at his clasped hands resting on the table.

"I'll say. They said I'm a huge disappointment to the family name, I've let them down and that if it wouldn't cause more shame to the family, they'd consider disowning me." He said tightly, rubbing a fist across his eyes quickly. James gaped.

"All over a stupid house?" Sirius offered him a watery smile.

"You, calling houses stupid? Who'd have thought this day would come?" He laughed when James scowled. "Yeah, 'all over a stupid house'. I told you, Blacks take the whole being a Slytherin business extremely seriously."

"That's stupid, though." James argued, bumping shoulders with Sirius when he looked down at his lap. "No, it _is._ They shouldn't treat you any differently just because you're not in the house they wanted you to be. It's really stupid."

"It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't _Gryffindor_. You don't get it, James. Gryffindor represents everything my family hates. The fact that I'm in it? Means _I_ now represent everything they hate. My parents aren't going to see this as something that couldn't be helped. They're going to see me as defective; as something that went wrong along the way."

"But you're not!" James said hotly, his cheeks flushing angrily. "There's nothing wrong with you!"

"Isn't there?" Sirius asked slightly drily. "We're raised to be perfect Slytherins. We don't get a choice. We're born into a family that places a certain set of ideals above all else, and if you so much as think they might be wrong you're instantly tainted as a traitor to the cause."

James opened his mouth to say something else about how stupid he found that idea when Sirius stiffened next to him. "What's wrong?" He asked instead, shifting closer to his friend.

"Hello, Cousin." An overly sweet voice behind them said and James instantly tensed.

"Bellatrix." Sirius answered carefully, refusing to turn around and instead focussed on a spot just over Evans' shoulder. She looked at him in concern and he shook his head minutely. She picked up on it and went back to her conversation with Dorcas as if nothing had happened.

"How's it feel to be a traitor, Cousin?" Bellatrix asked, moving to stand an inch behind Sirius, her hair almost touching the top of his head. Narcissa stood behind her silently, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at him coolly.

"Marvellous." He said back, picking at his nails as if her presence didn't bother him. James pretended not to notice the slight shake to his fingers and took a slow sip of pumpkin juice. "I've never felt better, actually."

She hissed, placing a clawed hand on his shoulder and didn't notice him flinch under it. "You're an embarrassment, you know. You've made us a laughing stock."

"You've cause far more damage to the family name than I have Bella, and _you're_ a _Slytherin_." He felt a brief flash of satisfaction when her grip tightened and she took a deep breath in. He'd bothered her. Good. "In fact, I'm curious as to why you weren't disowned after the stunt you pulled last January."

"That was _not_ my fault, and you know it, you little brat." Bellatrix seethed for a moment and then spat out, "If you don't fall in line, and quickly, you'll be punished. You know how your mother hates disobedience."

"You know me, Bella, anything to get on Mother's nerves." He glanced over his shoulder at her and smirked. "There's nothing I enjoy more. Now, did you have a point, or were you just here to be annoying?"

"Stay away from us, traitor. If you're this unrepentant about being a complete failure to the family name then we don't want anything to do with you." She sneered at him.

"Gladly. Nobody talks to you willingly, Bella, and if they do it's a sign of madness." Sirius hunched his shoulders and James, who had slowly moved closer to Sirius over this exchange glared at her fiercely, his arm draped protectively across Sirius' shoulders.

"Sod off and leave him alone."

Bellatrix's dark eyes swept over him quickly and she barked out a laugh. "And who're you? His guard dog? Keep out of this; it doesn't concern you."

"James Potter, and he's my friend, so yes it does. You're not wanted here, bugger off." James tightened the arm he had around the other boy's shoulders, smiling confidently at him when he met his eyes.

"Who do you think you are to threaten me? Do you _know_ who I am?" She scoffed and looked at Narcissa for support. The stoic blonde smiled slightly, which she took for encouragement.

James matched her scoff with one of his own and gave her a derisive once over. "Yeah, you're a stupid hag who doesn't know when she's not wanted."

Bellatrix's hand twitched towards her left sleeve and her eyes narrowed dangerously, but before she could say or do anything there was a light cough from behind her.

"Is there a problem here?" McGonagall asked seriously, a sheets of parchment in her arms. She glanced between the four of them sternly.

"No, Professor." Bellatrix answered quickly, her arm dropping down to rest at her side. McGonagall followed the movement and her eyebrow twitched. "I was just checking on my cousin, making sure that he was settling in alright."

"Well, if I'm not interrupting anything earth shatteringly important, I suggest you get back to your own table. Professor Slughorn will be handing out timetables in a moment." She watched the two girls back away slowly.

"Yes, Professor. See you later, _Cousin_." Sirius wasn't the only one who heard the threat in that statement and McGonagall watched her walk away with a small frown.

"Was she bothering you, Black?" She asked, slight concern lacing her voice.

"No, Professor. It wasn't anything serious." His lips lifted briefly, his eyes wide and, years later, he'd come to recognise the look she gave him as her version of a fond smile.

"If that's the case, then here are your timetables." She said, handing over two sheets of parchment and both boys immediately bent over them, their heads pressed together. She moved off further down the table, casting one last look over her shoulder as she passed a group of sixth years their timetables.

"Ugh." Sirius moaned, all traces of Bellatrix's visit gone, although James heard him sniff deeply a few times. Knowing Sirius would hate it if he made a scene, he ignored it in favour of elbowing him in the side gently.

"Potions first thing on a Monday? What is the world coming to?" He asked dramatically and Sirius grinned over at him quickly. "And with the Slytherins, no less."

"Andy told me that Slughorn's as easy as anything to wrap around your finger; you just need to know how to play his game." He snorted. "Her words, not mine."

"He's an old friend of Dad's, I think. He's a weird old man, from what I remember, but I haven't seen him since I was about six." James said, rubbing a hand through his hair as he looked at the parchment.

"After that, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Not too bad, I suppose." His eyes skimmed downwards and he groaned. "And Charms with the Ravenclaws. That's going to insufferable, I'm telling you now."

McGonagall swept back up the table, shooing students along and slowly the Great Hall began to empty, students heading off for their first class of the day. The two boys got to their feet, slinging their bags over their shoulders as they headed towards the oak doors.

"Potions is in the dungeons, isn't it?" Their roommate, Benjy Fenwick, asked from behind them and James turned to wait for the rest of the first year Gryffindors to catch up. They walked out into the Entrance Hall and to the Grand Staircase.

"Yeah." Sirius answered, looking around at the bustling student body. "Which means, it's down those stairs there, right?" He nodded to a set of stairs leading down and James led the way over to them.

"Only one way to find out." He said after a moment or two. He inhaled deeply, pulled the strap of his bag tighter across his body and took the first step.

.

Slughorn's classroom was cold when they walked through the door. Slughorn himself was standing in front of a cluster of tall desks and when he noticed them standing at the back of the room watching him, he clapped his hands a few times and beckoned them closer.

"Welcome! Come in! Come in!" A fat, brunette Slytherin girl was standing at the front of the front of the group and she hesitantly took a few steps forward, looking over her shoulder to make sure the others were following her. "Sit down. Sit, sit, sit."

They hesitantly spilled into the room, breaking off and lowering themselves onto stools situated in groups of four around the desks. Sirius went straight for the middle table on the back row and James followed him, dropping his bag onto the table and dropping down onto the stool with a sigh.

"Sorry," a quiet voice said from his left and James turned to see who it was. Lupin stood to a few steps back, his bag strap gripped tightly between his hands and he looked incredibly unsure of himself. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

James shook his head quickly, reaching out to pull his bag in front of him. "No, go ahead."

"Thanks." Lupin said, moving to perch on the edge of the stool. He reached into his bag and pulled out a few sheets of parchment, a quill and some ink.

"No problem." James murmured back, doing the same and poking Sirius when he made no signs of moving beyond sitting down.

After a few minutes of silence as everyone got settled, with Slughorn looking at them carefully, James turned back to Lupin and smiled. "I don't think we got the chance yesterday, but I'm James."

"Remus." Lupin answered, flicking his eyes in James' direction before staring straight ahead of him again.

James eyebrows drew down into a light frown and he tried again. "Where're you from?"

"Caldicot." At James' confused look, Lupin's lips twitched upwards briefly. "It's in Wales."

A look of understanding crossed James' face and he grinned sheepishly. On his other side Sirius snorted.

"Honestly, Potter, didn't your parents teach you anything?" His gaze shifted from James' face to Lupin's and he inclined his head. "I'm Sirius. Ignore him, he was apparently raised in a barn."

"I'm insulted and offended." James exclaimed, winking at Remus, who was looking like he was torn between amusement and finding another seat to sit in. "It was a shed, actually."

Sirius gave a startled laugh and Remus' small smile grew. Slughorn coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Settle down, please." He smiled at them all, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on James. "Ah, young master Potter. It _has _been a while, hasn't it, dear boy?"

"Yes, sir." James answered dutifully, kicking Sirius under the table when he sniggered into his hand and flushing when most of the class turned around to stare at him. He ignored the hateful glare Snape was sending in his direction from the other side of the room and instead focussed on a spot just over Slughorn's shoulder.

"How's your father? Last I heard he had made Head Auror." Slughorn gushed and James had trouble not squirming at the tone of voice the man used. Like this information was a piece of the rarest gold that must be paraded around for everyone to see and all for personal gain. James hated it.

"Yes, sir." He replied calmly, refusing to make eye contact with Slughorn.

The Potions professor seemed to take the hint because he coughed lightly and shifted his attention onto the group at large. "Yes, well. Potions, eh? Potions is perhaps the most delicate of all subjects, and whilst you are in my classroom, you will exercise the utmost care and consideration."

James' shoulders relaxed from the tension he hadn't realised had built and he shook his head to clear it. A small scrap of parchment appeared in front of him and he stared down at the messy scrawl for a few seconds in confusion until Sirius nudged him.

"_You feeling alright there, James?"_

James shot a glare in Sirius direction, who merely grinned cheekily in response. He then crossed out the line from Sirius, ignoring the huff of indignation the boy released, and dipped his quill in his ink pot.

"_Are you glad you're in Gryffindor?"_

He subtly pushed the parchment in Remus' direction and then began making notes as Slughorn rambled on about the importance of respecting Potions as a subject.

Remus blinked at the note a few times before hesitantly scribbling an answer.

"_It's not so bad, so far. I'm just glad I'm at Hogwarts at all."_

James showed the message to Sirius as discreetly as possible and pulled a face when Sirius raised his eyebrows at him.

"_Why wouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"_

Remus seemed to realise his mistake because he froze in his chair. He reached for the parchment and furiously dragged his quill across the rough surface.

"_I get ill quite a lot. My parents were worried it would mean I couldn't come."_

James didn't believe that answer when he saw it. Not completely. There had been something in the way Remus had panicked that told him there was something more to it than the scarred boy was letting on.

"_For what it's worth? I'm glad you're here."_

The resulting smile that bloomed across Remus' face wiped away any doubts James had had about the last comment and when the brunet looked at him, he smiled encouragingly.

"_So am I."_

_._

Remus, under strict observation from James and Sirius, accompanied the other two boys on their way to Herbology. The Gryffindors stuck together again, but this time Remus joined in with James and Sirius' conversation, however reluctantly. More than once James caught the green eyed boy muttering a comeback to one of Sirius' quips and he began to stare pointedly at him until he said it loud enough for everyone else to hear.

He quickly discovered that Remus was incredibly sarcastic and minutes into their first Herbology lesson, Professor Sprout was frowning at the three of them in disappointment. James bit his lip and ducked his head, remembering the letter that his mother had sent him that morning and the promise he had made her the day before.

"Now, this year you'll be studying Spiky Bushes, Bouncing Bulbs, and Mandrake Roots, to name a few things. I want to stress how important it is that any messing around in the greenhouses will result in detention. The things you will be working with can be extremely volatile and one wrong move can result in injury."

"You hear that, Sirius? One wrong move and you could lose a limb!" James whispered out the side of his mouth and he clamped down on the smile threatening to break free when Sirius let out a huff of laughter.

"Better stop being a pillock, then, eh, Potter?" He whispered back, flashing a grin in James' direction when Sprout turned her back on their side of the room. James pulled a face back and then switched his attention back to the short, stumpy woman who was pulling a few terracotta pots out from under a bench at the front of the room.

"The first thing you'll be looking at this year will be Dried Nettles." Some of the students groaned and she smiled slightly as she turned back around to face them, placing a few of the pots on the table before her. "I know they're not the most exciting plant to study, but they are an incredibly common ingredient in potions. Professor Slughorn has informed me that you'll be studying Swelling Solutions over the next few weeks and we've decided to corroborate our sources, so it's easier for you and a lot less confusing than it has been in the past."

James stopped paying as much attention after that, although he was still half listening to what was being said. His mother had taught him a lot during his childhood and had dedicated at least four hours a day to his learning.

Beside him, Remus was paying rapt attention, seeming to soak up every word that was offered and James couldn't find it in him to break that concentration. Instead, he began flicking pieces of dirt at Sirius, seeing how long it would take for the other boy to either notice or retaliate. It took up until a glob of dirt his cheek and James trying desperately not to laugh, his shoulders heaving in his attempts to keep the noise in for Sirius to realise what he was doing and he turned to him with a glare.

James pointed to his left cheek and Sirius reached up to rub at his own furiously. The dirt smudged across his skin and James couldn't hold his smile back anymore, a snigger breaking free. He tried to muffle it behind his hand, but a giggle broke free and Sprout looked at him disapprovingly again.

"What did I say about misbehaviour, Mister-?" She asked, dirty, gloved hands moving to rest on her hips.

"Potter. Sorry, Professor." He schooled his face and even managed to come across slightly remorseful. Sprout watched him carefully for a few seconds before nodding.

"Alright, just make sure it doesn't happen again."

.

The rest of the day passed extremely quickly, and the group of first year Gryffindors managed to only get lost twice on their way around the enormous castle.

Transfiguration turned out to be exactly what James had always been told it was. McGonagall was stern but fair, and like most of their teachers, she gave them a lecture about how dangerous the subject could be and what she'd do to anyone who broke any of her rules. She also walked them briefly through what they'd be covering over the course of the year, and Remus hesitantly teased both him and Sirius about their enthusiasm when they actively started paying attention.

"It's unlike you to be interested in school work, isn't it?" He asked when they were finally released from McGonagall's classroom. James pulled a face at him and Sirius playfully rolled his eyes.

"I like work just fine, I just prefer it when it isn't really boring." Sirius answered and James nodded slowly in agreement. "Mother's specialty was always Charms and she tried to inflict her wisdom unto her oldest son. She failed, obviously." He grinned, spinning around so he was walking backwards.

"Mum always loved Herbology. Merlin knows why. " James said, glancing over at Remus as they walked down the Transfiguration corridor towards the Grand Staircase. "Dad's always going on about how brilliant Transfiguration is and I suppose some of it must have rubbed off on me."

"What about you?" Sirius asked, switching his attention from James to Remus. The lanky brunet looked taken aback for a second.

"What about me, what?" He asked dumbly and Sirius' lips twitched upwards.

"What subject are you mad for?"

"I suppose Potions doesn't seem so bad. But I think I'm most looking forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts." Both of the other boys raised their eyebrows at him and he ducked his head. "My granddad used to be an Auror and he told me stories all the time. His enthusiasm got to me, I think."

Sirius sighed and turned back around so he was facing the same direction as the other two, falling into step in between them. "I wish we could do Care of Magical Creatures this year. My cousin, Andy, took it all the way up to N.E. and some of the things she said they studied sound amazing."

"Tell you what though," James said as they reached the stairs. They followed a group of second or third years down the short staircase, just getting onto the next floor's landing before the stairs swung upwards. "Herbology looks like it'll be a doddle. My mum taught me this stuff when I was eight."

"It'll get harder, though." A voice from behind them cut in and as one they looked to find Evans standing a few steps up from them.

"Well yeah, I guess." James said and made a face when Evans smiled slightly at him. "It's just going to be really boring for a while first."

"For you, yes. But not all of us grew up around this, you know." Evans pointed out and James blinked a few times. He was about to apologise, not entirely sure for what, but feeling like he should, when Evans continued. "Still, spending a few lessons on _stinging nettles_ seems a bit excessive."

"Stinging what now?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Stinging nettles. You know, because they sting you if you touch them." Evans answered, her brow furrowing when the two Purebloods gave her a blank look. She looked to Remus for support and found him grinning in amusement.

"Why would you touch them if they sting you?" James was clearly confused.

"It's not like you do it on purpose." The girl next to Lily piped up, tucking a strand of curly blonde hair behind her ear. "They're right blighters if you do touch one though."

Sirius turned to James with his eyebrows raised inquiringly. "I say we investigate, Potter."

"Agreed, Black." James nodded his head decisively and they shook hands, sharing a secret grin when the colours sparked up around them, the candlelight flaring orange briefly before settling back down into a pale yellow. They ignored the bemused looks being sent in their direction and instead led the way across the Entrance Hall.

"C'mon, lads." Sirius said, grinning cheekily when both girls made noises of protest. "I don't know about you, but I'm bloody starving."

.

When they finally had time to themselves, it was after the other boys in their dormitory had already gone to bed. The only one who hadn't was Pettigrew, but he had been in the bathroom for close to half an hour and had made no signs of coming out any time soon.

Sirius lay on his bed, staring at the canopy above him and studying the way the crimson changed depending on the angle the light was hitting it from. He turned his head to watch James and looked at the messy black hair spilled out across his pillow.

"Have you got used to it, yet?" He asked quietly, sending a nervous look at the two sound asleep boys across the room.

James shifted, lifting his head out from his pillows and blinking over at Sirius. "Not really." He answered hesitantly. "I've just been too busy to really think about it that much."

Sirius snorted, the sound almost silent but he nodded. "It sounds stupid, I mean I can see _colours_, but everything's been so hectic today that I kind of pushed it to the back of my mind."

"It's really strange though." James said after a few minutes, flipping onto his back and looking up at the ceiling. "Two days ago, everything was black and white. I didn't even know what my hair colour was. And now here I am, able to tell the difference between the colours of two sodding _freckles_."

Sirius breathed out a laugh. "I know what you mean. I caught myself staring at the table at dinner because one grain of wood was a different shade to another." He crossed his arms behind his head and tapped his foot against the mattress, his leg bent to point at the headboard. "It's bloody confusing. My family hasn't had someone meet their soul mate in hundreds of years; I have no idea about how this whole thing works."

"And you think I do?" James scoffed softly. "My parents have never told me anything other than that meeting your soul mate is the best thing that ever happens to you. We'll figure it out. There're books and stuff about it. We can't be the only ones."

"S'weird, though, isn't it?" Sirius mumbled. "Two blokes being soul mates."

"It's not common, as far as I know." James returned carefully.

"Doesn't it make us… broken, or something?" Sirius' voice was extremely quiet, as if he was truly afraid of whatever James was going to say next. James breathed out through his nose and ran a hand through his unruly hair before slowly getting to his feet. Sirius watched him pad across the wooden floorboards so he was standing at the side of his friend's bed. Without saying anything, James crawled across the mattress so they were laying face to face on the duvet.

"Not to me." He eventually said and he watched Sirius blink at him a few times, ignoring the wetness that had sprung to the other boy's eyes. After a moment's hesitation, he walked his fingers down Sirius' arm until their hands were almost touching. "You're not broken, Sirius."

"If you say so." He whispered back, unwittingly curling his fingers around James' sweaty palm and he smiled when the green in James' hazel eyes brightened until it was the only colour he could see. His own eyes were still a bit damp and he scrubbed at them with his free hand, letting out a watery laugh when James reached up to grab his wrist. "This is _so_ strange."

"No arguments here."

"Everything's so bright now." Sirius said after a minute, his hands still trapped between James' smaller ones, but he didn't seem to mind and made no move to remove them. "I think that's what shocked me most. Not the colours or anything, but that everything's so _bright._"

"I know what you mean." James said, shifting around slightly so that he was more comfortable and one of his thumbs stroked gently against Sirius' wrist. The room around them flared every time his skin brushed against Sirius'. "Which colour d'you think's your favourite?"

Sirius didn't hesitate, a large grin spreading across his face. "Red." His foot knocked against James' shin as he moved and he stared at him defiantly when he left it there. "It's so _alive._"

James frowned lightly, pulling at his bottom lip with his teeth. It was true that having a world that was suddenly not a confusing jumble of differing shades of grey was incredibly overwhelming, and whenever he had a free moment to himself, he marvelled at just how _different_ everything was. But he wouldn't go as far as saying the colours felt alive.

Sirius noticed the frown and furrowed his eyebrows, his head tilting to the side. "What?"

"Nothing." He said distractedly, only focussing his attention back on Sirius when there was a sharp prod to his chest. He turned the frown on the other boy.

"What's wrong, Potter?" Sirius asked exasperatedly, poking him in the chest again for good measure when it looked like he was going to deny it again.

"I think there might be something wrong with me." He muttered and then his lips quirked upwards in an ironic smile. "Looks like you're not the one who's broken." His tone was joking, but Sirius heard the slight quiver that he did his best to hide with a small laugh.

"Shut up." Sirius said, slightly angry. "There's nothing wrong with you." James didn't say anything and Sirius huffed. "Just tell me what's wrong, idiot."

"You said the colours felt alive to you, right?" He asked and Sirius gave a jerky nod of the head.

"Yeah."

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius bit his lip and looked up at the canopy as he thought of a way to answer.

"I don't know how to explain it. It's like, the colours themselves seem to, I don't know, pulse?" He looked at the blank expression on James' face and tucked his bottom lip under his teeth. "You don't get that?"

James shook his head, giving Sirius an apologetic look when a flash of hurt passed over his features. "I do, I think. Just, not to the extent that you do."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, silently signalling him to expand and James swallowed quickly.

"I get flashes of colours pulsing, but it's not a constant thing. We have to be touching, most of the time." Sirius pursed his lips thoughtfully and then cracked a small smile.

"Maybe you have more than one." He suggested, the smile morphing into a grin at the confused look on James' face.

"More than one, what?"

"Soul mate." He expected James to laugh with him, and when the other boy gave him a brief look of panic, he reached out and wrapped his slender fingers gently around James' wrist.

"But, I –" James stuttered. "I – I don't want anyone else." He said firmly after a while and Sirius stared at him in shock. "I _don't_. I have you, and I didn't even think I'd get that. I think I could be happy like this."

"I-." Sirius paused and blinked slowly. He let a long breath and then tried again. "Like you said yesterday, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. If this is all you want, then so be it." He lifted his arm up and rubbed James' shoulder reassuringly.

"Thank you." James said lowly, brushing his fingers against Sirius' in a gentle stroke. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He made to move off of the bed, intending to go back to his own, but Sirius' hand on his shoulder tightened and he stopped moving.

"Don't…" He said, sniffed and rolled his eyes before opening his mouth again. "Just stay here." He tugged James back down onto the mattress and absolutely did not snuggle closer to the warm body in front of him as he relaxed into the duvet.

.

Peter stood just inside the door, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the two lumps on Black's bed. He edged into the room carefully, trying to avoid making any noise and freezing when he banged his knee against the trunk at the end of his bed. When none of the other boys in the room made any sign of being awake, let alone hearing him curse softly, he let out a relieved sigh and scrambled into bed.

As he settled into his pillows, his mind wandered back to the conversation he'd just overheard. He felt himself grow cold at the thought of two people he was going to be sharing a dorm with for the next seven years being 'fairies' as his mother called them. If she found out he'd be sharing breathing space with a pair of poofs, she'd have a fit.

He hadn't spent much time with either of them as they'd been too wrapped up in each other, and occasionally Lupin and Evans; something which suddenly made a lot more sense than it had earlier. But he had liked them well enough and they'd seemed like decent enough people, if a bit too willing to mess about for Peter's tastes.

He lifted his head enough to look over at the two boys lying curled against each other, their legs tangled together and their heads pressed close together. Sirius had wrapped himself around James' arm and the bespectacled boy had his other arm across the Sirius' shoulders.

"I'm not going anywhere near them from now on." He silently swore to himself, barely resisting the urge to cross himself. His mother had instilled the fear of God into him as a child and he had no desire to become _infected_ by their vile behaviour. He glared over at them even though they couldn't see him and then flopped backwards with a sigh.

His eyes started to droop and he buried himself under his blankets, curling up into a tight ball. He felt a twinge of regret over losing two potential friends, but his desire to stay untainted by them overruled any other feelings he had. Peter fell asleep to the promise that come the morning he wouldn't have anything to do with them.


End file.
